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sebby_reads's reviews
242 reviews
အင်းနားချိုင်း by Tim
3.0
Inner Child by Tim is a pretty thin book with barely over 100 pages featuring six short stories in fantasy-fiction and sci-fi fiction. It is quite rare to find (for me at least) such genre in Burmese literature. I’ve only read a few in Science Magazine during my childhood. Could also be my lack of reading Burmese fantasy fiction since it is not my favourite genre.
It was an enchanting read. There’re three stories I really enjoyed and they are The Family, As Expected, and The Reason Being Not Suffice With the Current World. The Piper is an intriguing read, too, with a modern retelling. I like how The Family and Not Suffice With the Current World are the first and last stories of the book respectively. It’s like two devoted brother and sister embracing the remaining siblings. That's an engaging arrangement.
What I also like to praise is that the writer put footnotes at the end of the stories and mentioned where he got the inspirations from. It is not an obligatory but that’s genuine of him to put his references. We know that almost all the creations in the world were referenced from someone’s work. An idea sparks whilst reading a book or hearing a speech or a song or could even be from an overheard conversations. Sometimes we reuse, borrow, remade or modify from those to create something new or even better.
These are quite compelling stories. However, I found some sentences were somewhat inarticulate. Or it could be just me asking for complexity every writing. Not every book has to be necessarily sophisticated, right? Anyway, reading this book was like a breath of fresh air in the midst of several dystopian stories I've read in the past months. 3 out of 5 stars.
It was an enchanting read. There’re three stories I really enjoyed and they are The Family, As Expected, and The Reason Being Not Suffice With the Current World. The Piper is an intriguing read, too, with a modern retelling. I like how The Family and Not Suffice With the Current World are the first and last stories of the book respectively. It’s like two devoted brother and sister embracing the remaining siblings. That's an engaging arrangement.
What I also like to praise is that the writer put footnotes at the end of the stories and mentioned where he got the inspirations from. It is not an obligatory but that’s genuine of him to put his references. We know that almost all the creations in the world were referenced from someone’s work. An idea sparks whilst reading a book or hearing a speech or a song or could even be from an overheard conversations. Sometimes we reuse, borrow, remade or modify from those to create something new or even better.
These are quite compelling stories. However, I found some sentences were somewhat inarticulate. Or it could be just me asking for complexity every writing. Not every book has to be necessarily sophisticated, right? Anyway, reading this book was like a breath of fresh air in the midst of several dystopian stories I've read in the past months. 3 out of 5 stars.
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
4.0
Recommeded by a fellow bookstagrammer, I happened to read this one. What a lovely story with compelling narrative. It is a historical novel during the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1940’s. The story was narrated by Teoh Yun Ling, a newly retired Supreme Court Judge. Her unsettled past resurfaced when she returned to Cameron Highlands of Malaysia, where she was briefly apprenticed under a Japanese, Nakamura Aritomo who also happened to be a former gardener of the Emperor of Japan.
Yun Ling and her elder sister, Yun Hong, were imprisoned in a Japanese civilian internment camp and Yun Hong was forced to become one of the comfort women for the Japanese soldiers. One day, Yun Ling miraculously escaped the camp. After the war, she looked for the location of the camp in order to make a proper burial for her sister but couldn’t find any trace. She continued living her life with guilt and wanted to fulfil her sister’s wish to build a Japanese garden. From a family friend in Cameron Highlands told her Aritomo was living in Cameron Highlands, she visited there in hope of creating a Japanese garden for her sister. In between to and fro of Yun Ling’s past and present, she relived the memories and tried to figure out several unsolved mysteries Aritomo had left.
It was such a beguiling story. This is my first book by a Malaysian novelist. The way Tan described on the beauty Japanese gardens and the scenery of Cameron Highlands was utterly enticing. The narration on the story of Yun Ling and Aritomo was enchanting with dainty little proses. Even after finishing the book, a trail of sentimentality continues to linger on my mind. Absolutely loved it. 4 out of 5 shining stars.
The Garden of Evening Mists is second novel by Tan Twan Eng and it was shortlisted for 2012’s Man Booker Prize and won Man Asian Literary Prize. It has also been adapted to film in 2019. The adaptation was slightly varied from the book but the film itself was pleasantly beautiful. I’m gonna pick Tan’s debut novel The Gifted Rain for my next read. This book had also been long-listed for Man Booker Prize.
Yun Ling and her elder sister, Yun Hong, were imprisoned in a Japanese civilian internment camp and Yun Hong was forced to become one of the comfort women for the Japanese soldiers. One day, Yun Ling miraculously escaped the camp. After the war, she looked for the location of the camp in order to make a proper burial for her sister but couldn’t find any trace. She continued living her life with guilt and wanted to fulfil her sister’s wish to build a Japanese garden. From a family friend in Cameron Highlands told her Aritomo was living in Cameron Highlands, she visited there in hope of creating a Japanese garden for her sister. In between to and fro of Yun Ling’s past and present, she relived the memories and tried to figure out several unsolved mysteries Aritomo had left.
It was such a beguiling story. This is my first book by a Malaysian novelist. The way Tan described on the beauty Japanese gardens and the scenery of Cameron Highlands was utterly enticing. The narration on the story of Yun Ling and Aritomo was enchanting with dainty little proses. Even after finishing the book, a trail of sentimentality continues to linger on my mind. Absolutely loved it. 4 out of 5 shining stars.
The Garden of Evening Mists is second novel by Tan Twan Eng and it was shortlisted for 2012’s Man Booker Prize and won Man Asian Literary Prize. It has also been adapted to film in 2019. The adaptation was slightly varied from the book but the film itself was pleasantly beautiful. I’m gonna pick Tan’s debut novel The Gifted Rain for my next read. This book had also been long-listed for Man Booker Prize.
ကျနော့်ခန္ဓာကိုယ်ထဲမှာ မိန်းမတစ်ယောက် ကျူးကျော်နေထိုင် by နေသန်, ရေအေး
4.0
The book consists of 5 short stories and an interview with Yay Aye by Nathan. The title story was by Yay Aye and the rests are by Nathan. In preface, Nathan explained about the term playgiarism and its association with the stories featured in the book.
The title story, ‘A Woman Invaded Maung Maung’s Body’ is an interesting story of a young doctor having psychotic disorder. The writer told Maung Maung’s struggle with his sexuality with a dash of mystical past and present day’s psychoanalysis. Being a psychiatrist himself, Yay Aye explored multi-layer of human’s mind through his character and presented beautifully on one’s own battle with self acceptance towards his sexual orientation. It is important to accept ourselves first for who or what we truly are and from that we can look forward to be accepted by our loved ones and society.
Two stories, ‘Mrs. Fox’ by Sarah Hall and ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank’ by Nathan Englander, translated to Burmese by Nathan are gripping with absolute simplicity in writing. Nathan’s original short stories— 'Metamorphosis' and 'Crime & Punishment’—has their own intriguing storyline. The titles of these two are Burmese translation of stories by Kafka and Dostoevsky. Metamorphosis has a very engaging narrative. Mrs. Fox. is an exciting read and the unorthodoxy of the story makes it more appealing.
The collective work of these stories and aforementioned ‘playgiarism’ fit splendidly. The interview at the end of the book was an insightful read too. All in all, it was a captivating read and I’d rate 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I was introduced to Yay Aye by Rodney Sann Lwin's audiobook channel on Spotify. I happened to listen to a couple of Yay Aye’s short stories and was intrigued instantly.
The title story, ‘A Woman Invaded Maung Maung’s Body’ is an interesting story of a young doctor having psychotic disorder. The writer told Maung Maung’s struggle with his sexuality with a dash of mystical past and present day’s psychoanalysis. Being a psychiatrist himself, Yay Aye explored multi-layer of human’s mind through his character and presented beautifully on one’s own battle with self acceptance towards his sexual orientation. It is important to accept ourselves first for who or what we truly are and from that we can look forward to be accepted by our loved ones and society.
Two stories, ‘Mrs. Fox’ by Sarah Hall and ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank’ by Nathan Englander, translated to Burmese by Nathan are gripping with absolute simplicity in writing. Nathan’s original short stories— 'Metamorphosis' and 'Crime & Punishment’—has their own intriguing storyline. The titles of these two are Burmese translation of stories by Kafka and Dostoevsky. Metamorphosis has a very engaging narrative. Mrs. Fox. is an exciting read and the unorthodoxy of the story makes it more appealing.
The collective work of these stories and aforementioned ‘playgiarism’ fit splendidly. The interview at the end of the book was an insightful read too. All in all, it was a captivating read and I’d rate 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I was introduced to Yay Aye by Rodney Sann Lwin's audiobook channel on Spotify. I happened to listen to a couple of Yay Aye’s short stories and was intrigued instantly.
အသက်ရှူသံတိုးတိုးကလေး by နွေလ
4.0
Faint Breath is second novel by Nwai La and it depicts a moving story of a female protagonist named Thi and her yearning for her dead husband, Lynn. Thi was a writer with a few books already published. Soon after Lynn’s death, she ran away to a small town to escape from everything. She kept having dreams about Lynn and then she decided to write the story about tow of them.
Thi had a traumatised childhood as she witness her parents’s incessant fights. She was neglected and occasionally abused by them as well. Growing up, her loving grandma was her only safe haven. She had frequent nightmares of her parents’s killing each others in the dream. Thi was tormented and never thought she would have someone to love until she met Lynn. Little by little, Lynn filled up the holes in her life and became her epitome of love. But, the unsolved issues of her past entangled with her present and took her into a whirlpool of tragedy.
Akin to touch-me-not plants (mimosa pudica), Faint Breath may seem dainty by its look and name but there are invisible thorny stems interlace in it. I can feel that Thi’s character was crafted with love and empathy and Lynn’s with such charisma. Beautiful, indeed. Lucid account of Thi’s traumatic events and psychotic disorders were expressed with diligence and subtlety.
Compared to his debut novel, Ian, this book is much more compelling and coherent in storytelling. Throughout the book it is such a captivating read featuring a wide array of emotions except the ending. Find my reason under the spoiler. Nonetheless, it is good yarn with heartwarming narrative. 4 stars out of 5.
***SPOILER***
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For my personal preference, I'd like it to end right after Thi’s narration. It’s good to have answers for some readers with Htin Kyi’s narration but to me, the sudden change of narrator at the end lost my balance a bit. Besides, the similar tone of narration in both Thi and Htin Kyi’s characters gave me some discomfort. I felt his narration was unnecessary and somewhat forcefully giving a closure to the reader. Personally, I’d like to have a trail of uncertainty with questions after reading a book.
Thi had a traumatised childhood as she witness her parents’s incessant fights. She was neglected and occasionally abused by them as well. Growing up, her loving grandma was her only safe haven. She had frequent nightmares of her parents’s killing each others in the dream. Thi was tormented and never thought she would have someone to love until she met Lynn. Little by little, Lynn filled up the holes in her life and became her epitome of love. But, the unsolved issues of her past entangled with her present and took her into a whirlpool of tragedy.
Akin to touch-me-not plants (mimosa pudica), Faint Breath may seem dainty by its look and name but there are invisible thorny stems interlace in it. I can feel that Thi’s character was crafted with love and empathy and Lynn’s with such charisma. Beautiful, indeed. Lucid account of Thi’s traumatic events and psychotic disorders were expressed with diligence and subtlety.
Compared to his debut novel, Ian, this book is much more compelling and coherent in storytelling. Throughout the book it is such a captivating read featuring a wide array of emotions except the ending. Find my reason under the spoiler. Nonetheless, it is good yarn with heartwarming narrative. 4 stars out of 5.
***SPOILER***
*
*
*
*
*
For my personal preference, I'd like it to end right after Thi’s narration. It’s good to have answers for some readers with Htin Kyi’s narration but to me, the sudden change of narrator at the end lost my balance a bit. Besides, the similar tone of narration in both Thi and Htin Kyi’s characters gave me some discomfort. I felt his narration was unnecessary and somewhat forcefully giving a closure to the reader. Personally, I’d like to have a trail of uncertainty with questions after reading a book.
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
4.0
Bangkok Wakes To Rain is a debut novel by Thai novelist Pitchaya Sudbanthad. Told in non-linear timeline, it is an eco-fcition of the city Bangkok and how much it has changed through generations. It is a collection of short stories interlaced with recurrent characters—a missionary doctor, a divorced socialite, a jazz pianist, a student lost in the 1976 October massacre, two sisters separated 2000 miles, a construction worker, photographer wandering around the world, etc. A house in Bangkok is intricately linked to all of these characters.
It is a mixture of historical fiction, contemporary realism and futuristic fantasy as some stories incorporated real events occurred in the past, some based on current timeline and some are written with the imagination of what it would be like in futuristic Bangkok. It is the writer’s beautiful homage to his beloved city, Bangkok, with the cocktail of emotions.
This novel explored the major forces that drive the change of Bangkok. It also traversed on the inevitable challenge we all are facing today. Bangkok is one of the cities at greatest risk from the effects of climate change. Global warming and the rise of sea level are just the first layers of climate change. The social and economic challenges that entail upon several lives of people living in the city will be much more difficult to find solutions. Bangkok is rapidly transforming into a metropolis through multiple of today’s technological advancements. The writer gives readers a nudge to climate change and the trajectory of its impact.
Due to its disjointed nature of narrative and the loose connections between the stories, I was a little confused in some earlier stories. But when I got the hang of it, it was a compelling read. The wet and humid Bangkok was explored via abundance of characters in different decades. Entrancing and evocative. 4 out of 5 stars.
It is a mixture of historical fiction, contemporary realism and futuristic fantasy as some stories incorporated real events occurred in the past, some based on current timeline and some are written with the imagination of what it would be like in futuristic Bangkok. It is the writer’s beautiful homage to his beloved city, Bangkok, with the cocktail of emotions.
This novel explored the major forces that drive the change of Bangkok. It also traversed on the inevitable challenge we all are facing today. Bangkok is one of the cities at greatest risk from the effects of climate change. Global warming and the rise of sea level are just the first layers of climate change. The social and economic challenges that entail upon several lives of people living in the city will be much more difficult to find solutions. Bangkok is rapidly transforming into a metropolis through multiple of today’s technological advancements. The writer gives readers a nudge to climate change and the trajectory of its impact.
Due to its disjointed nature of narrative and the loose connections between the stories, I was a little confused in some earlier stories. But when I got the hang of it, it was a compelling read. The wet and humid Bangkok was explored via abundance of characters in different decades. Entrancing and evocative. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
4.0
The protagonist Philip Hutton recounted his youth amid the turmoils of WWII in Penang, Malaysia. Philip was the son of a rich British businessman and Chinese mother. He had three half-siblings from his father’s previous marriage. Since his mother’s death, he distanced himself from the family and spent most of his time alone. Amongst his British family members, he never felt that he truly belonged to his family.
When his whole family took a trip to London, he remained at Penang and his life took a turn when he met Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Instantly, Philip was drawn to Endo’s uniqueness. He studied aikido and other Japanese cultures from Endo and in return Philip showed him around Penang. Soon, the bond between Philip and Endo became strong. When Japanese invaded Malaya, Philip was torn between his family, his people and his loyalty towards his sensei.
Through Philip’s evocative narration, TTE told the distressing time during Japanese invasion and the absolute cruelty of the war. Philip was merely 16 when he met Endo. He constantly battled with his love for his family and people and his strong admiration for Endo. The poignant tale of their complex relationship was told with such nuance.
You might think Philip was the main character in the story. I’d like to believe TTE set Penang as the protagonist in his first novel, an homage to his birthplace. I love, love, love how descriptive TTE was about the picturesque Penang and its culture with his lush of eloquent writings. It was mesmerizing to read such visually enticing proses.
Through his various characters, TTE captivatingly wrote a riveting story of love and loss, loyalty and betrayal, hope and despair during horrific wartime. I enjoyed the interlacing of myth and folklores between real events. Surprisingly befitting. I thought the multiple layers of Philip’s character unfolded after each chapter yet Endo’s remained elusive. But I kept contemplating about both characters even after I finished reading. Fascinating character development. It was equally redolent and tear-jerking as The Garden of Evening Mist. 4 out of 5 stars.
When his whole family took a trip to London, he remained at Penang and his life took a turn when he met Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Instantly, Philip was drawn to Endo’s uniqueness. He studied aikido and other Japanese cultures from Endo and in return Philip showed him around Penang. Soon, the bond between Philip and Endo became strong. When Japanese invaded Malaya, Philip was torn between his family, his people and his loyalty towards his sensei.
Through Philip’s evocative narration, TTE told the distressing time during Japanese invasion and the absolute cruelty of the war. Philip was merely 16 when he met Endo. He constantly battled with his love for his family and people and his strong admiration for Endo. The poignant tale of their complex relationship was told with such nuance.
You might think Philip was the main character in the story. I’d like to believe TTE set Penang as the protagonist in his first novel, an homage to his birthplace. I love, love, love how descriptive TTE was about the picturesque Penang and its culture with his lush of eloquent writings. It was mesmerizing to read such visually enticing proses.
Through his various characters, TTE captivatingly wrote a riveting story of love and loss, loyalty and betrayal, hope and despair during horrific wartime. I enjoyed the interlacing of myth and folklores between real events. Surprisingly befitting. I thought the multiple layers of Philip’s character unfolded after each chapter yet Endo’s remained elusive. But I kept contemplating about both characters even after I finished reading. Fascinating character development. It was equally redolent and tear-jerking as The Garden of Evening Mist. 4 out of 5 stars.
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
4.0
I am overwhelmingly and voluntarily lost after reading this. Lost as in the state of losing every plausible reason of your existence; having no idea of the time and space you’re currently in; oblivious to your surrounding and any occurrence at the moment. Ocean’s eloquent poetry of rippling stories are blooming with vast expressive proses.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
5.0
Finished reading this spectacularly magnificent novel, Girl, Woman, Other by brilliant Bernardine Evaristo. It told the stories of multiple black female characters of different ages and sexuality from different backgrounds living in the UK.
Through edifying yet witty storytelling, Evaristo ingeniously ventures into various issues of sexism, racism, sexualism, activism as well as the political correctness in present world, bombardment in reality and social media for raising your voice or simply for being your true self.
In four chapters, the stories of twelve strong women are told in loud and vivid narrative. Loud as in loud enough to raise awareness towards the reader, not in a noisy and irritable tone. Vivid like the colourful spectrum of light. Each character is phenomenally brave and opinionated, daring to challenge their own prerogatives. These diverse stories are harmoniously interwoven and eventuate into one vibrantly beautiful tapestry in whole.
Although it was written by one person, the novel has impeccable narrations of diverse women with multitude of voices portraying such complex characters. The uttermost favourite thing about this book is Evaristo’s depiction of her characters with such benevolence. Despite being enthusiastic, each character has a flaw showing how humane we all are.
The language is striking and proses are entertaining. Although I was quite taken aback by its bizarre punctuation—the lack of periods (full stops). I only found two or three in the entire book. A little redundant in some stories to me personally but the ceaseless narrative took me through the end effortlessly.
The deserving (joint) winner of the Booker Prize 2019. Funny, brilliant, moving and thought provoking. Glittering 5 stars out of 5.
Through edifying yet witty storytelling, Evaristo ingeniously ventures into various issues of sexism, racism, sexualism, activism as well as the political correctness in present world, bombardment in reality and social media for raising your voice or simply for being your true self.
In four chapters, the stories of twelve strong women are told in loud and vivid narrative. Loud as in loud enough to raise awareness towards the reader, not in a noisy and irritable tone. Vivid like the colourful spectrum of light. Each character is phenomenally brave and opinionated, daring to challenge their own prerogatives. These diverse stories are harmoniously interwoven and eventuate into one vibrantly beautiful tapestry in whole.
Although it was written by one person, the novel has impeccable narrations of diverse women with multitude of voices portraying such complex characters. The uttermost favourite thing about this book is Evaristo’s depiction of her characters with such benevolence. Despite being enthusiastic, each character has a flaw showing how humane we all are.
The language is striking and proses are entertaining. Although I was quite taken aback by its bizarre punctuation—the lack of periods (full stops). I only found two or three in the entire book. A little redundant in some stories to me personally but the ceaseless narrative took me through the end effortlessly.
The deserving (joint) winner of the Booker Prize 2019. Funny, brilliant, moving and thought provoking. Glittering 5 stars out of 5.
တနင်္လာနေ့မှာ ကိုယ့်ကိုယ်ကိုယ်သတ်သေရန် ကြံစည်ခြင်း by ရေအေး
4.0
"Suicidal Intent on Monday" by Yay Aye is about a story of a psychotherapist who struggles with his own distress after the death of his mother. Since his mother was a cancer patient, he was somewhat prepared or expected of her departure. When she committed suicide, it was so sudden that he lost his balance for a bit.
Although he tries to carry on with his life and continues seeing patients, his mind was inundated with suicidal thoughts. Being a psychotherapist himself, he tends to psychoanalyse people around him. But he mainly analyses his own thoughts and reasons with each of them perhaps he has the need to give himself justification for his thoughts or could be out of habits from his work, as well.
Through the mind of the narrator, Yay Aye shares about countless thoughts and emotions a person goes through within a brief moment. And how it could lead to myriad of other thoughts and actions. The book imparts a great deal of knowledge to the readers about our stream of consciousness and how swiftly it flows. It is a good portrayal of people who tend to overthink or overanalyse. By telling stories of two different characters as the patients of the protagonist, the writer showcases other plausible reasons behind one’s attempt to suicide.
As an (occasional) over thinker/analyser myself, it is interesting to read how the protagonist assimilates the incoming information differently. Some of us tend to overthink without even realising it. It’s not that the habit of analysing things is bad but when our mind is too occupied with one single issue and it’s consuming too much of your time and energy, that’s not good in long term. So for the sake of our own good, we gotta acquire knowledge through experience.
Very absorbing read indeed with coherent and immaculate storytelling. 4 out of 5 stars.
Although he tries to carry on with his life and continues seeing patients, his mind was inundated with suicidal thoughts. Being a psychotherapist himself, he tends to psychoanalyse people around him. But he mainly analyses his own thoughts and reasons with each of them perhaps he has the need to give himself justification for his thoughts or could be out of habits from his work, as well.
Through the mind of the narrator, Yay Aye shares about countless thoughts and emotions a person goes through within a brief moment. And how it could lead to myriad of other thoughts and actions. The book imparts a great deal of knowledge to the readers about our stream of consciousness and how swiftly it flows. It is a good portrayal of people who tend to overthink or overanalyse. By telling stories of two different characters as the patients of the protagonist, the writer showcases other plausible reasons behind one’s attempt to suicide.
As an (occasional) over thinker/analyser myself, it is interesting to read how the protagonist assimilates the incoming information differently. Some of us tend to overthink without even realising it. It’s not that the habit of analysing things is bad but when our mind is too occupied with one single issue and it’s consuming too much of your time and energy, that’s not good in long term. So for the sake of our own good, we gotta acquire knowledge through experience.
Very absorbing read indeed with coherent and immaculate storytelling. 4 out of 5 stars.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
4.0
A poignant love story of two young people through their adolescent years was told amiably. The story opens in a small town in Ireland where two teenagers go to school. Marianne, despite being rich and smart, is a social outcast for being weird at school. Her family is cold and distant. Connell, a footballer and also a smart on, is popular among friends. His mother cleans the house of Marianne’s family. They hook up secretly and occasionally hang out together, have long and meaningful conversations, and fall asleep together. They break up abruptly right before the end of high school. When they meet again at the college, the tables have turned. Marianne becomes a popular friend everybody knows and Connell always feels like a misfit in the crowd.
Throughout the time, their feelings for each others grow and their friendship becomes stronger. However, unbeknownst to them, there’s always something breaking them apart—their own personal demons. They dated other people but they always look out for each other. The on again off again “relationship” or “whatevership” we would label between these two main protagonists was perplexing yet I find it so real. The struggles they have to fight for their demons and the inferiority for class differences are the main things secretly decaying their whatevership.
It’s clear that they love each other exceedingly but there are other things in adult life. It seemed at first that the characters “get” each other but as the pages unfold, ‘do they really?’ I questioned. Like we sometimes think we understand certain people in our life but in fact, we only know the fraction of their life. Rooney weaved the issues of class and privilege, physical and emotional pain, depression into her story immaculately. I find it an enjoyable read, 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Throughout the time, their feelings for each others grow and their friendship becomes stronger. However, unbeknownst to them, there’s always something breaking them apart—their own personal demons. They dated other people but they always look out for each other. The on again off again “relationship” or “whatevership” we would label between these two main protagonists was perplexing yet I find it so real. The struggles they have to fight for their demons and the inferiority for class differences are the main things secretly decaying their whatevership.
It’s clear that they love each other exceedingly but there are other things in adult life. It seemed at first that the characters “get” each other but as the pages unfold, ‘do they really?’ I questioned. Like we sometimes think we understand certain people in our life but in fact, we only know the fraction of their life. Rooney weaved the issues of class and privilege, physical and emotional pain, depression into her story immaculately. I find it an enjoyable read, 3.5 out of 5 stars.